Tyre prices drop by 25 pcNew Delhi, March 17The increase
in import of cheap Chinese tyres last quarter has resulted in the fall
of tyre prices by over 25 per cent in the market. Tyres majors,
including MRF and Metro, may oppose the entry of Chinese tyres, but the
world’s top tyre makers — Michelin and Bridgestone — have announced to
import top-end radial tyres for trucks and buses to supply across the
country.

Entertainment sector poised for high growth
New Delhi, March 17
With the increase in urban population and new entertainment channels,
the entertainment sector, that includes films, television, music, radio
and live entertainment, is poised for a substantial growth in the next
few years.

IA to unveil free ticket scheme
New Delhi, March
17Indian Airlines has now come out with a
"Hot Seat" scheme which will
offer four free tickets every day to a lucky winner.

IBP share skids below offer price
New Delhi, March 17
Investors in the
IPO of IBP Ltd today found the oil marketing firm scrip skid to Rs 563
before it recovered to Rs 601 quoting at a discount of 2.9 per cent to
the price at which the government had disinvested its stake in the
company two weeks ago.

8 cr cover for Hero Honda Motors
Chandigarh,
March 17National Insurance Company has, for the first time, provided
an insurance cover of Rs 8 crore to Hero Honda Motors the co-sponsors of
the India-Pakistan cricket series, for the eight matches to be played in
Pakistan.

43 lakh pay package for IIM-A student
Ahmedabad, March 17Living up to its top billing, the Indian Institute
of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) today earned an astronomical Rs 43 lakh
as annual salary for one of its student who got a job with Deutsche
Bank.

World Bank president James Wolfensohn covered with colour during a visit to Ljubljana
on Wednesday. Wolfensohn and Slovenian
Finance Minister Dusan Mramor were attacked on the street in front of
the government palace with green paint by anti-globalisation protesters. —
Reuters

Maruti targeting 2-wheeler owners
New Delhi, March 17
Maruti Udyog (MUL), with its
latest offering to the public, has given a final push to its strategy to
take complete control of the huge small car segment and is looking at
specifically targeting the almost 40 million two-wheeler owners.

$2 b Exim Bank loan for African nations
New Delhi, March 17
The Exim Bank will shortly
extend a $ 2.2 billion Line of Credit to some African countries as part
of India’s recent commitment to promote trade with the region. The
countries identified for the purpose comprise Egypt, Mauritius, Uganda,
Botswana, Tanzania, Senegal and Zambia.

HCL drops plan to move HQ
New Delhi, March 17State-owned Hindustan Copper has abandoned plans to
shift its headquarters to Delhi following the rejection of its proposal
by the Centre.

New Delhi, March 17
The increase
in import of cheap Chinese tyres last quarter has resulted in the fall
of tyre prices by over 25 per cent in the market.

Tyres majors,
including MRF and Metro, may oppose the entry of Chinese tyres, but the
world’s top tyre makers — Michelin and Bridgestone — have announced to
import top-end radial tyres for trucks and buses to supply across the
country.

According to All-India Tyre Dealers’ Federation (AITDF), "Over
1.5 lakh tyres have been imported from China in the last quarter. The
import is likely to increase manifold in the coming months as the annual
market is growing at an annual rate of 8-10 per cent. The total size of
the Indian market of radial and cross ply tyres is worth over Rs 10,000
crore.”

The owners of cars
and other vehicles will benefit substantially due to import of Chinese
tyres. For instance, the average price of radial tyre for car has
already come down from Rs 2,400 to Rs 1,800. The prices are further
expected to come down in the next few months.”

The price of average
imported truck tyre is around Rs 5,000 as against Rs 9,000 price of the
domestic tyre. Along with state transports, the truck owners in the
North will benefit substantially from this development. However, two
wheeler tyre imports have not picked up so far, he said.

With the
inclusion of China into Bangkok Trade Block, along with South Korea,
Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Indian customers will be able to import a large
number of commodities from them, including automotive tyres, at lower
import duty. The import duty on tyres from Bangkok agreement countries
is 15 per cent as compared to 20 per cent peak duty rate. In January
this year, the government had also announced to cut import duty on tyres
by 5 per cent.

Experts say, over two-third of the imported tyres from
China were reaching the Delhi market— a major supply centre for Punjab,
Haryana, Chandigarh, J&K and Himachal Pradesh.

The association,
however, alleged that by importing subsidised Indian rubber, the Chinese
companies were dumping tyres at a lower price in the Indian market. It
will ultimately kill the tyre industry, it added.

New Delhi, March 17
With the increase in urban
population and new entertainment channels, the entertainment sector,
that includes films, television, music, radio and live entertainment, is
poised for a substantial growth in the next few years. It is expected to
grow from Rs 19,200 crore in 2003 to Rs 42,300 crore by 2008 at a
compound annual growth rate of 17 per cent.

These are the findings of
the latest report of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) and Ernst and Young titled “The Indian Entertainment
Industry: Emerging Trends and Opportunities.” The study has been carried
out by collecting inputs from top 50 industry leaders and an online
survey of more than 400 respondents.

To consolidate the growth of the
entertainment industry, the FICCI-E&Y report has recommended the
rationalisation of the entertainment tax, extension of concessions
offered to multiplexes, a common ticketing platform for film tickets and
a re-look at the current licence fee regime for the FM radio players.
The report also calls for the government to empower a central body that
would issue licences to cable operators.

The study observed that the
entertainment industry out-performed the economy in 2003, by growing at
15 per cent to Rs 19,200 crore. “An increase in television viewership
and improved realisations from television subscriptions and film
exhibition were the primary drivers for this growth,” says the
report.

The introduction of direct-to-home (DTH) services, the
multiplex boom, the experimentation with digital cinema to expedite film
exhibition in semi-urban and rural markets and FM Radio will spur growth
in the sector. According to the report, a robust GDP target at an annual
8 per cent growth will not only ensure a conducive environment for the
Indian entertainment industry to grow, but also result in an increased
demand for entertainment.

The report estimated that during 2003, the
total revenue of the film industry reached Rs 4,500 crore and was
expected to grow at 18 per cent annually to gross Rs 10,100 crore by
2008. The key growth drivers in this segment would be increase in
multiplexes, advent of digital technology and creating films as brands
through corporate tie-ups.

With approximately 8.5 crore households
having television, India is the third largest television market in the
world, only behind China and the USA. Of the total television
households, 4.4 crore households receive cable television services.
Revenues from television are expected to grow at a compounded annual
growth rate of 17 per cent over the next five years to gross Rs 28,852
crore by 2008. The study noted that the revenue from FM radio was
expected to grow by 30 per cent annually, and from live entertainment
segment by 60 per cent in the foreseeable future.

New Delhi, March
17
Indian Airlines has now come out with a "Hot Seat" scheme which will
offer four free tickets every day to a lucky winner.

A release issued
by the airlines said the scheme will start from March 19 till May 19
where a winner will be chosen everyday.

The scheme will be valid for
all revenue passengers travelling on any domestic or international
sector by Indian Airlines or Alliance Air. A computerised draw will pick
one seat number of any flight and the winner will be awarded the four
free return tickets.

The result will be announced every evening and
will be displayed at all airports, booking offices and also on the
website of the airlines- www.indian-airlines.com.

To claim the award
the passenger must submit his original boarding pass, photocopy of the
ticket jacket and an application to the reservations manager of the
nearest Indian Airlines office.

The
boards of both companies have approved merger proposal and the share
ratio, the Managing Director of the two pharmaceutical companies F.S.
Kalyanasundaram told reporters after the board meetings here

Both companies would now seek approval of shareholders and the Bombay
High Court for the merger, he said.

The two companies have agreed to a
share swap ratio of 14 GlaxoSmithKline shares for every 10 held by
Burroughs Wellcome shareholders, valuing each Burroughs share at around
Rs 862.

The company will now proceed with the procedural requirements
of various statutes including seeking approval of its shareholders and
the High Court at Mumbai.

GSK’s nine billion-pound takeover of
Wellcome in 1995 created the world’s largest drug company at that time,
but the Indian merger was held up for all these years by a labour
dispute.

GlaxoSmithKline has the biggest market share of 5.6 per cent
in a highly-fragmented Indian pharma market. — PTI, UNI

New Delhi, March 17
Investors in the
IPO of IBP Ltd today found the oil marketing firm scrip skid to Rs 563
before it recovered to Rs 601 quoting at a discount of 2.9 per cent to
the price at which the government had disinvested its stake in the
company two weeks ago.

The government had sold its 26 per cent residual
stake in IBP Ltd at the floor price of Rs 620 a share collecting Rs 350
crore from the IPO.

The stock market has gone in a correction mode
since the ONGC mega public issue closed last week. Analysts say, unless
the investors get refunds from an IPO which was over-subscribed by 5.88
times, the market would remain in a volatile state.

The IBP share was
offered to retail investors at a price of Rs 586 with a discount of five
per cent. At a low of Rs 563, it was quoting much below the level at
which even the small investors were given the share. However, the
recovery in the later part of the day came handy for retail investors
who participated in the IBP public offering. — UNI

Chandigarh,
March 17
National Insurance Company has, for the first time, provided
an insurance cover of Rs 8 crore to Hero Honda Motors the co-sponsors of
the India-Pakistan cricket series, for the eight matches to be played in
Pakistan.

Mr Gurinder Raj Singh, Regional Manager of the company said
today that due to competition from private insurance companies, the
company has started issuing policies to suit the requirements of
customers. The company is also contemplating a plan for public events
like Star Nights at various places within the country and abroad.

He
said the company had sought this special cover since the Indian team was
playing these matches in Pakistan and Hero Honda, being the co-sponsor,
was spending Rs 1 crore on each of these matches. The risk of losing
this money was big indeed. The insurance company in turn charged a
premium of Rs 10 lakh for the policy.

The policy provides coverage
against an all risk factors, including political risks and natural
calamities on account of which the match is called-off.

Ahmedabad, March 17
Living up to its top billing, the Indian Institute
of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) today earned an astronomical Rs 43 lakh
as annual salary for one of its student who got a job with Deutsche
Bank.

Mr Sumidh Jaiswal, who was being offered a whopping starting
salary of $ 96,000 said he was “lucky and happy” to get the deal and
thanked the IIM-A faculty.

In the domestic market, the average annual
salary of Rs 7.10 lakh clinched by the class of 2002-04 during campus
placement was 14 per cent higher than Rs 6.2 lakh last year.

This is
partly due to a large number of candidates with prior job experience
opting for ‘lateral placement’ for ‘higher management cadres’ this year,
Professor in-charge of placement Dr Rekha Jain said. — UNI

New Delhi, March 17
Maruti Udyog (MUL), with its
latest offering to the public, has given a final push to its strategy to
take complete control of the huge small car segment and is looking at
specifically targeting the almost 40 million two-wheeler owners.

Having
launched its latest strategy just earlier this month, MUL has seen a
staggering jump of 800 per cent in its inquiries from the public for the
purchase of its ''people car'', Maruti 800, in just the first two weeks.
It is hoping to convert all these inquiries into sales which will
further push up its overall sales figure for the year to a possible
record high.

Apparently working towards short circuiting the possible
new entrants into the small car segment, MUL has worked out an EMI with
the SBI which will help it approach not only the existing two-wheeler
owners in the country but also the new two-wheeler customers.

MUL has
put on offer its 800 cc model for a minimum EMI of Rs 2,599 over seven
years which it feels is its unique selling proposition and is making the
finance available to the customers to the maximum limit. It is offering
the customers a chance to put in the initial amount which they were to
put in for the two-wheeler towards the car instead and pay the rest in
the EMI.

The amount could be as little as Rs 30,000 for a higher end
model and lower for the base model.

New Delhi,
March 17
Reliance Energy Ltd, a member of Ambani-promoted Reliance
Group, today floated an international tender for sourcing natural
gas/LNG for its 3740 MW gas-fired power project at Dadri in Uttar
Pradesh.

Reliance EGen Ltd, (REGL) a special purpose vehicle floated by
REL for setting up the Rs 11,000 crore power plant, has sought 17-18
million standard cubic meters per day of natural gas or regassified LNG
beginning June 2006, according to the tender floated by the
company.

While RIL’s Dhirubhai gas fields in the Bay of Bengal were
initially considered as the fuel supply source for the project, the
company intends to optimise cost of production by sourcing cheapest
gas.

“REGL may consider procuring the natural gas from multiple sources
in a cost-effective manner to meets its fuel requirement,” the tender
said.

State-owned gas producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp and/or gas
transmission firm GAIL India Ltd may bid to supply additional gas being
produced in the Mumbai offshore region, while Petronet LNG Ltd and Royal
Dutch/Shell are being considered as the potential re-gassified LNG
suppliers.

PLL has begun importing LNG at Dahej in Gujarat and Shell’s
Hazira terminal is expected to begin operations by year-end. Both the
terminals are linked with the trunk HBJ pipeline that transports gas to
Delhi.

REGL has sought by April 9 initial bids detailing the source of
supply, reserves, expected quantum and duration of gas supplies. —
PTI

New Delhi, March 17
The Exim Bank will shortly
extend a $ 2.2 billion Line of Credit to some African countries as part
of India’s recent commitment to promote trade with the region. The
countries identified for the purpose comprise Egypt, Mauritius, Uganda,
Botswana, Tanzania, Senegal and Zambia.

Joint Secretary in the Ministry
of External Affairs E. Barwa said a comprehensive sector-wise analysis
is being undertaken to identify areas for trade promotion with African
countries under the credit line extension programme.

Mr Barwa said a
large proportion of the proposed credit will go to those who seek to
invest in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, agro and horticulture
industries and infrastructure.

Chairman and Managing Director of Exim
Bank T. C. Venkat Subramanian said the bank will facilitate Indian
investment in the African region in the form of joint ventures and
wholly owned subsidiaries.

The Exim Bank will also seek
partnership with institutions such as the African Development Bank, the
World Bank and Afri-Exim Bank among others.

India’s exports to Africa
have reached $ 3.1 billion in 2002-03 from a relatively low figure of $
394 million in 1990-91. In percentage terms, Indian exports to Africa
at present stands at around 6 per cent as compared to 2.2 per cent in
1990-91.

Muthoot branchChandigarh, March
17
The Muthoot Group, a major player in the private banking and
financial services sector opened its new branch at Ludhiana today. It
was inaugurated by the Chairman of the group, Mr M.G George Muthoot.
The group, which has a turn-over of more than Rs 5,000 crore and a
branch network of over 650 branches spread across 10 states in the
country. Fully computerised branches will shortly start functioning in
Jalandhar and Amritsar. — TNS

Spice TelecomChandigarh, March
17
Spice Telecom today introduced a Limited Period Offer on its
prepaid offering — Spice Quicky. Under the scheme, every Spice Quicky
activation on Rs 250 MRP will have additional free talktime worth Rs
75 for three months which is over and above the Free Talktime of Rs 50
on activation. — TNS

J&K BankNew Delhi, March 17
Jammu and
Kashmir Bank, which expects over Rs 27,000 crore business and over Rs
400 crore net profit this fiscal, plans to ask RBI for reviving the
long-suspended operations of its two branches in Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir in view of the improving Indo-Pak ties. — PTI

New Nabard MDMumbai, March
17
Mr Y.S.P. Thorat today took over as the Managing Director of the
National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Nabard). Prior
to his appointment, Mr Thorat was the Executive Director with the
Reserve Bank of India. — UNI

Varun ShippingMumbai, March 17
Varun Shipping Company Ltd
has announced issue of 3,62,61,591 equity shares of Rs 10 each for
cash at a price to be decided later. These shares will be issued to
the shareholders on rights basis in the ratio of one equity share for
every two equity shares held. — UNI

Tata HoneywellMumbai, March
17
Tata Honeywell Ltd has been chosen by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
to provide it with an integrated security solution to protect almost
500 of its installations across the nation. — UNI

New Ortem
fansChandigarh, March 17
Ortem has launched designer fans
comprising Ortem Hi Tech Decor, Millennium Ornamental and Shangrila
Gold. These are available between the range of Rs 1375 and Rs 1525. —
TNS

Hinduja TMTMumbai, March 17
The board of Hinduja TMT Ltd has
declared a 50 per cent interim dividend for the current financial year
ending March 2004. — PTI